WHILE business tycoon of Slovak origin Andrej Babiš continues to insist that he did not knowingly cooperate with the communist-era secret service, the ŠtB, and that his file is fictitious and purposefully made up, the archives of the Nation’s Memory Institute (ÚPN) show the opposite. The Sme daily reported in its October 19 issue that it has acquired the so-called Eye file, which was created by the ŠtB in 1982.
Babiš’ codename, Bureš, appeared in two documents. One of them, the Eye file, pertains to Alexej Novák, an employee of the company ZOZO Interal Bratislava, who was suspected of economic criminal activities. The second contained information about a rented flat where ŠtB agents and their collaborators would meet, Sme wrote. The ÚPN used both files as evidence in the proceeding dealing with the businessman’s criminal complaint against the ÚPN, in which he says they have unlawfully registered him as an ŠtB agent.
“The documents we delivered to the court confirm that Mr Babiš is legally registered as an ŠtB agent under the codename Bureš,” Krajňák said, as quoted by Sme.
Also, Miroslav Lehký, who worked for both the ÚPN and the Czech Institute for Totalitarian Regimes Studies, confirmed that the Eye file shows Bureš was informing the ŠtB about Novák. Yet, it is not clear what kind of information he provided, since in December 1989 the ŠtB shredded the files, including Babiš’ personal file, as reported by Sme.
Yet, Babiš’ lawyer Vladimír Ruman considers the documents to have no probative value. If the court accepts them as evidence, they will show they are not credible, he said, without providing further details, as reported by Sme.
Sme also reported that no one who is likely to vote for Babiš, who will run in the upcoming Czech general election with his ANO party, had a clue about the new evidence that he actively cooperated with the communist ŠtB. The topic failed to attract the attention of the Czech media, Sme wrote.
Babiš responded that it is a campaign of Sme, but a former reporter of the Czech daily Lidové Noviny, Daniel Kaiser, disagrees.
“So far Babiš claimed that his file was forged, but this is information from the other two files and it is improbable that those were also forged,” Kaiser told Sme.
Source: Sme
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
